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New Symphony Hall Avoids Starchitecture

May 31, 2009, 11am PDT

The new Montreal Symphony Hall design is revealed. The architect states, 'We are not building for the ego of the architect, large as it might be.'

'We are not building for the ego of the architect, large as it might be,' Diamond said when asked to compare his simple conception with Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles and other flamboyant arts edifices.

'We are doing this for the future of concert going in Montreal. We are placing the building in a contemporary and responsible manner that deals with the verities of a great symphony hall.'

Both the facade of the hall on the plaza of Place des Arts and much of the long wall along St. Urbain St. (where the main entrance will be) are composed of rectangular see-through glass panels. While the interior of he hall will be isolated visually and acoustically, the lobby areas, especially when illuminated at night, will be visible from the outside.